BLOG THE SECOND

November 14, 2015


Well, where were we?  Oh yes.  Roberto Clemente’s home town.  And I wore my Clemente shirt ashore and received several kind remarks in remembrance of “The Great One.”  Our Puerto Rican excursion lasted long enough to walk to CVS and pick up a few things, then two blocks to a little place we found last time that sells Snickers Ice Cream Bars, and then back to the ship.  We might have been out 40 minutes.

The night before we stood in line for standing in line tickets to the worst show we’ve ever seen.  Did I tell you that?  Raise your hand if I did. 

Last night we went to a show called “We Will Rock You.”  Did Queen do that song?  My rockology is lacking, but I think they did.  I know they did “Flash! Ah ah! Savior of the Universe!”  The show was set on iPlanet.  Everything was controlled by Globalsoft.  And rock and roll was history.  Gone.  Vanished.  Fineto.  A small group of malcontents called the Bohemians longed for the days of live music and were in search of “The Axe” and several other memorabilia.  A decent show was made a super show by the incredible voices of the female and male leads.  Just incredible!  Did I say, “Incredible”?

Tonight at supper in the Silk we sat beside a couple who had reservations for “Spectra” (see paragraph two above).  They asked us how we liked it, after they told us they walked out of “We Will Rock You.”  I said, “Well, if every other show we see on board for the rest of this cruise is low down lousy and stinking, they will still rank higher than ‘Spectra.’” We discussed the merits or lack thereof of the two shows and they went off to catch “Spectra.”  I hope we see them again to learn what they thought.  They left with low expectations to be sure, so anything will be an improvement.

For the first time while cruising I was served something I did not like and did not eat.  It was an Oriental something – supposed to be schezhuan, but it was sadly lacking.  I ate two bites and pushed it aside.  Bonnie liked both of her appetizers, but not her main course.  I was one out of two on the appetizers and did like the main course.  We both like dessert.  I had a Ginger Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream, and Bonnie got her favorite trio – vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.  Still not a serving of Creme Brulee in sight!

Tonight’s show was entertainer Finis Henderson – a musical impressionist.  He did Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Cash, Johnny Matthais, Stevie Wonder, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Elvis, the Beatles (all four of them) and the Bee Gees.  Bonnie says he did Nat King Cole, but I think it was someone else I can’t remember.  Regardless, it was a great show.

Back to the Silk.  One of our waiters tonight was Gisel, a sweet young lady from Brazil.  She waited on us at breakfast a couple days ago.  That morning I asked her how many contracts she had done and she said this was her second.  Her first was sailing on a Disney ship.  She told us about coming off work one night and walking down the main corridor which they the I-95 Corridor, and coming towards her was Mickey Mouse.  She was startled to see him there and he reacted by coming over to her and giving her a hug.  She was still glowing when she told her roommate and got teased for it.  She told us that it was so special because he stopped and hugged her and she was “just a crewman.”  Bonnie and I commented later that Mickey was just a crewman, too, but he made her night!  Gisel asked us to ask to be seated at her table when we come back to Silk.

Today we booked the North Star for one afternoon next week.  That’s the big arm that swings around in a circle and takes you out over the ocean.  Bonnie said she’d do it, so listen for the sounds of discomfort.

And I booked a session on the iFlight (I think that’s the name) – the Anthem’s on board, enclosed sky diving booth.  I will have my personal photographer record the event for you.

Tomorrow we meet Sarah ashore in Barbados and do a tour with her.  Then it is three more islands in a row: Martinique, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten.  I hope to find wireless some place or else this will be posted in about a week.

TTFN!

November 15, 2015

Our friend Sarah was in the office today trying to get ready for the tourist season, so her head guide, Quamby, met us.  We have gone out with Quamby before, and set out to first see the Jewish Synagogue and Museum.  The Synagogue on Barbados is the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.  You know that the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, so you would expect the Synagogue to be open on Sunday.  We did, too.  It was not.

We drove to Oistens, the fishing village that each Friday hosts a fish fry, and each Monday after Easter hosts a fish boning contest.  We saw the brother of the man who won this year’s event, but the winner was not at the market.  I guess that’s the prize for winning – Sunday off.  Quamby took us to Surfer’s Point, a beautiful spot with great blue water and crashing waves and four fishermen plus a group of wind surfers, more like kite flyers – my photographs would have been good if my lens had been clean.  Rule number one – be sure your lens is clean.  Argghhh!

Bonnie collected some beautiful sea shells.  When we got back to our stateroom, she discovered one of them had a creature in it.  The creature would not relinquish his home, so we flushed him down the toilet (why is it never flushed up the toilet?).  In so disposing of the indigenous life form, I am sure we violated some law.  Please keep it a secret.

We went to Sudberry Plantation and then to Gun Hill Point.  The plantation we’ve seen before, but Gun Hill Point was a new stop.  In the days before electronic communication, 5 signal towers were built on the 5 highest places on Barbados so warning signals and other news could be transmitted around the island.

The Lord willing we will be back on Barbados on December 15th.  We talked to Sarah on the phone and she is planning a trip for us.  One stop will be North Point – one of the most beautiful spots on the island.  Depending on the tides, we may go into Sea Flower Cave.  We will definitely have lunch there.

Back on board we had pizza for lunch, then took the required afternoon naps.  We watched the sail away from Deck 14 and then went to Devinly Decadence for supper.  This was my first and last time there.  Bonnie said she could go again.  I ordered crab cakes and filet mignon.  The crab cakes were fair and my medium steak came out Amy’d – sanctified, burnt, over well done.  The manager came by with that smile all restaurant managers display and asked if we were enjoying our supper.  I said, “No!” (Michael and Matthew do you remember, “It’s cold.  It’s cold!”?).  He apologized profusely and brought me another steak.  It was good.  But the damage was done. 

The show tonight was an in house production featuring the ship’s singers and orchestra.  Because we got out of dinner early we made the first show, and now will turn in for an early evening before getting ready to explore Martinique tomorrow.

TTFN

November 16, 2015

The best laid plans of mice and men oft times go astray.  We take that as an axiom.  But two days in a row?

We set off to see St. Louis Cathedral, but walked right past it – it was cleverly disguised, wrapped in construction netting.  By the time we found the cathedral, it was 11:45.  It closed at 11:30.

We walked on to the Musee d’Archeologie Precolombienne and found it with no trouble.  But the Museum of Pre-Columbian Archeology doesn’t open on Monday until 1 p.m.  It was 11:30.

We walked over to see Fort de France.  We saw the outside of it, but the inside is closed until December 15 for renovations. 

Maybe one of our next trips will bring us back and we can see what we missed.

The flag at the Fort is flying at half mast in honor of those killed in Paris in the recent terrorist attacks.  There is also a French warship in the harbor.  Mr. President, if that was the work of the Junior Varsity, you had better hope you never face their First Team!

So we walked back to McDonald’s and had Snickers McFlurrys.  Dairy Queen, you have no competition.  Your Blizzard exceeds the McFlurry by leaps and bounds.  But we have Euros left from our trip to Rome, so we spent some with Ronald and picked up a few souvenirs, paying in the local currency.

While walking around on Martinique today I worked on my farmer’s tan.  My neck and shoulders, where they stuck out of my t-shirt are bright red.  There is a spot of red on my arms as well.  I’d tell you that tomorrow I’ll grease up with SPF 3,795, but we didn’t bring any.

Tonight at supper in the American Icon we sat beside a couple of Diamond Members – meaning they have sailed almost as much as Christopher Columbus.  But they were jovial and made for a pleasant evening.  He is a travel agent, and he is not thrilled with the Anthem of the Seas.  I encouraged him by asking, “Really?  What don’t you like?”  He allowed as how he had a list of 50 items, but would only bore me with the first 10.  His long-suffering wife just shook her head.

The list?  Ah, let’s see.  I will only bore you with his first three.  He doesn’t like the food.  They are Diamond Members after all and entitled to a free glass of wine each evening, but each evening he has to pay for it and then go to guest services to get a credit for his free glass of wine.  Second, other than the comedian, he hasn’t liked a single show.  We shared his opinion of “Spectra” (as noted earlier).  Third, he doesn’t like his room.  His wife uses a wheel chair and the bed is by the balcony, not by the bathroom.

We passed them on our way into tonight’s show – Aerialists Donovan and Rebecca – as they were leaving the first performance.  He pronounced it good.  I agreed with him.  Bonnie did not.  Check them out on YouTube.  Incredible acrobats!

For supper tonight, Bonnie finally had spaghetti.  She said it tasted like Ragu, but it was spaghetti.  I had baked scallops with asparagus, and I enjoyed it very much.  It did not taste like Ragu.

This afternoon we rode the North Star, a boom with a glass enclosed passenger cab attached.  It takes you 300 feet off the surface of the ocean (150 feet off the pool deck) and then rotates you 75 degrees to port and then 75 degrees to starboard and then back to the center.  Fantastic views.  We are going to try to get reservations to do it again at another stop, or even at a day at sea.

And we stood in the que for bumper cars.  My traveling companion pronounced it great fun and wants to do it again.  We stood in line for about 20 minutes to ride for 4 minutes, but it was great fun.  I rammed her twice, and missed once.  She bumped me once, and prided herself that I was her only hit, remaining unmaimed for the duration of the ride.

We also qued up to get two free charms of the ship.  We were subjected to a sales pitch by the sales staff at the port shopping office to get the free charms, but we got them without agreeing to buy anything.  When you’ve worked at Taber’s: Your jeweler with the 100 day money back guarantee, you can fend off any salesman’s stiff arm (some of you will remember the car salesman who jumped in front of Mahettabelle and wouldn’t move – it was not even a contest – Mahettabelle won).

Tomorrow we take a Scenic Train Ride in St. Kitts.  Hopefully I can find WiFi in the morning (our tour is at 12:30) and post this.

TTFN